Following is our list of african american history quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about african american history month.
The story of the African-American people is the story of the settlement and growth of America itself, a universal tale that all people should experience. — Henry Louis Gates
I don't want a Black History Month. Black history is American history. — Morgan Freeman
African rights and liberty is a subject that ought to fire the breast of every free man of color in these United States, and excite in his bosom a lively, deep, decided and heart-felt interest. — Maria W. Stewart
Ancient Egypt was a Negro Civilization. The history of Black Africa will remain suspended in air and cannot be written correctly until African historians dare to connect it with the history of Egypt. — Cheikh Anta Diop
America's greatest crime against the black man was not slavery or lynching, but that he was taught to wear a mask of self-hate and self-doubt. — Malcolm X
American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it. — James Baldwin
And thus goes segregation which is the most far-reaching development in the history of the Negro since the enslavement of the race. — Carter G. Woodson
An awareness of our past is essential to the establishment of our personality and our identity as Africans. — Haile Selassie
It comes down to this: black people were stripped of our identities when we were brought here, and it's been a quest since then to define who we are. — Spike Lee
I would rather be a member of this [Afrikan] race than a Greek in the time of Alexander, a Roman in the Augustan period, or Anglo-Saxon in the nineteenth century. — Edward Wilmot Blyden
Black men of Carthage, Ethiopia, of Timbuktu and Alexandria gave the likes of civilization to this world — Marcus Garvey
There are more African Americans under correctional control, in prison or jail, on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850 a decade before the civil war began. — Michelle Alexander
The establishment of democracy on the American continent was scarcely as radical a break with the past as was the necessity, which Americans faced, of broadening this concept to include black men. — James Baldwin
The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness. — Marcus Garvey
American slavery was not a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It was a holocaust. My ancestors are slaves. Stolen from Africa. I will honor them. — Spike Lee
African American Black History Quotes
Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionarys life. When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime. — Angela Davis
Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations. — Mae Jemison
My father was a slave and my people died to build this country and I am going to stay here and have a part of it just like you. — Paul Robeson
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why we call it present.
The potential for greatness lives within us all. — Wilma Rudolph
Yesterday is a history; Tomorrow a mystery; Today is a gift; That's why we call it the present
Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face. — Carol Moseley Braun
I am the dream and the hope of the slave — Maya Angelou
I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up. — Rosa Parks
Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate in the blessings of her luxuriant soil. — Richard Allen
African American History Month Quotes
Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us. — Susan L. Taylor
I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. — Harriet Tubman
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise. — Maya Angelou
Don’t let your history interfere with your destiny.
You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man. — Frederick Douglass
Black people have always been America's wilderness in search of a promised land. — Cornel West
Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can. — Arthur Ashe
Those who tell the stories rule society.
American means white, and Africanist people struggle to make the term applicable to themselves with ethnicity and hyphen after hyphen after hyphen. — Toni Morrison
I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all. — Zora Neale Hurston
I refuse to accept the view . . . that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
It is my hope that as we commemorate Black History Month in the future, we will continue to celebrate the many achievements and rich culture of African-Americans. — Eliot Engel
African American Quotes
I have written a song that says: If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words, "They're gone," and they'll come back. — Prince
If you can be the best, then why not try to be the best? — Garrett Morgan
Fighting is a sport; if you're not humble it's going to bring humbleness to you. — Mike Tyson
Live out of your imagination, not your history.
It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are. If you don't use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem. — Coretta Scott King
Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live. — Mae Jemison
Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else. — Maya Angelou
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is a gift.
If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. — Malcolm X
In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe. — Michael Jackson
Deal with yourself as a individual, worthy of respect and make everyone else deal with you the same way. — Nikki Giovanni
Don't be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn't do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn't know what you know today. — Malcolm X
African American Culture Quotes
Violence is black children going to school for 12 years and receiving 6 years' worth of education. — Julian Bond
You should always respect what you are and your culture because if your art is going to mean anything, that is where it comes from. — Romare Bearden
The theory that religion is a force for peace, does not fits the facts of it's history.
To reaffirm the statement on the choosing of my identity, I come from two beautiful cultures which I have embraced, bridged, balanced, and identify with. I am proud to be who I am as a Dine' (Navajo) and Nahilii (African American) woman. Hozho', , & blessings — Radmilla Cody
The Afro-American experience is the only real culture that America has. Basically, every American tries to walk, talk, dress and behave like African Americans. — Hugh Masekela
The African-American community still needs to come together as one and stand up for rights of the people and of what's happening in their culture, their community. — Ziggy Marley
Don't let your history interfere with your destiny.
The treatment of African and African American culture in our education was no different from their treatment in Tarzan movies. — Ishmael Reed
Coming up in the African-American culture, we were taught that we belonged to the universe and society was wrong in the way it dealt with us. We had to learn to express and affirm values not from the winning position. — Bernice Johnson Reagon
People ask me if I miss the States. I miss African Americans. But not the U.S. government or all the things they put me through. I miss African American culture, our speech, dance and cooking. — Assata Shakur
Jamestown changed the world in many ways, but perhaps it shaped our nation most profoundly the day Africans arrived. I can't think of a more relevant place to talk about the issues facing our community today than the place where African culture became American culture. — Tavis Smiley
African American Civil Rights Quotes
Look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
One in three young African American men is currently under the control of the criminal justice system in prison, in jail, on probation, or on parole - yet mass incarceration tends to be categorized as a criminal justice issue as opposed to a racial justice or civil rights issue (or crisis). — Michelle Alexander
Defiance, not obedience, is the American's answer to overbearing authority.
I see America through the eyes of the victim. I don’t see any American dream; I see an American nightmare. — Malcolm X
Maya Angelou, the famous African American poet, historian, and civil rights activist who is hailed be many as one of the great voices of contemporary literature, believes a struggle only makes a person stronger. — Michael N. Castle
If you're someone who genuinely believes that women don't deserve or aren't as much as men, you're like the plague. On the big history chart, you're the plague... It's just pointless and deadly.
The Klan had used fear, intimidation and murder to brutally oppress over African-Americans who sought justice and equality and it sought to respond to the young workers of the civil rights movement in Mississippi in the same way. — Charles Rangel
And when the time is right, I hope that African Americans will again look to the party of emancipation, civil liberty, and individual freedom. — Rand Paul
There's good reason to be excited. You have the first woman running who is qualified, and a very attractive African-American who has demonstrated crossover appeal. I got involved in politics 40 years ago during the civil rights movement, so yes, it's an exciting thing. — Joe Biden
I deeply understand the history of civil rights and the horrendous impact that relentless and systemic discrimination and the denial of voting rights has had on our African-American brothers and sisters. I have witnessed it. — Jeff Sessions
African American Music Quotes
I have this ability to find this hidden talent in people that sometimes even they didn't know they had. — Berry Gordy
There's a category for me. I like to be referred to as a good singer of good songs in good taste. — Sarah Vaughan
Regardless of what you play, the biggest thing is keeping the feel going. — Wes Montgomery
We are not makers of history. We are made by history.
My own personal theory is that all popular music, in whatever form it is, to me, it all comes from Africa. Whether it's filtered through America or whatever - African-American. But I still think there's something in that roots music that's very, very African, and I think that's what unites people. — Paul Weller
Ray Charles' revolutionary approach to music was also reflected in his politics and his deep and abiding commitment to Martin Luther King and the plight of African-Americans. Ray Charles may not have been on the front lines, but he put his money where his mouth was. — Diane Watson
Seriously though, my father was the first African American to sign a contract with the Metropolitan Opera so I grew up with classical music and jazz in the home all the time. — Bobby McFerrin
African American Women Quotes
I believe unconditionally in the ability of people to respond when they are told the truth. We need to be taught to study rather than believe, to inquire rather than to affirm. — Septima Poinsette Clark
Don't settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that's in us. — Angela Bassett
In the dark times, if you have something to hold on to, which is yourself, you'll survive. — Whoopi Goldberg
You are on the eve of a complete victory. You can't go wrong. The world is behind you. — Josephine Baker
I've always believed that I could do whatever I set my mind to do. — Alice Coachman
What they call you is one thing. What you answer to is something else. — Lucille Clifton
I'm convinced that we Black women possess a special indestructible strength that allows us to not only get down, but to get up, to get through, and to get over. — Janet Jackson
Don't let anything stop you. There will be times when you'll be disappointed, but you can't stop. Make yourself the best that you can make out of what you are. The very best. — Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander
I'm realizing, you don't need to change anything about yourself. This is who you are, and it's okay. That's daring. — Uzo Aduba
The virtue of female slaves is wholly at the mercy of irresponsible tyrants, and women are bought and sold in our slave markets, to gratify the brutal lust of those who bear the name of Christians. — Sarah Moore Grimke
Black History Month Quotes
you must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right. — Rosa Parks
If we accept and acquiesce in the face of discrimination, we accept the responsibility ourselves. We should, therefore, protest openly everything ... that smacks of discrimination or slander. — Mary Mcleod Bethune
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. — Harriet Tubman
The United States has been called the melting pot of the world. But it seems to me that the colored man either missed getting into the pot or he got melted down. — Thurgood Marshall
How are we going to get rid of racism? Stop talking about it! — Morgan Freeman
There is no negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own constitution — Frederick Douglass
I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me. — Muhammad Ali
We are the ones we've been waiting for. — June Jordan
we are the ones we have been waiting for — Alice Walker
This being Black History Month, I would like to ask people to celebrate the similarities and not focus on the differences between people of color and not of color. — Lynn Swann
African Race Quotes
It's time we become comfortable with the uncomfortable conversations about race...Instead of being color blind, we need to be color brave. — Mellody Hobson
At no time within the last five-hundred years can one point to a single instance of the Negro as a race of haters. — Marcus Garvey
No white American ever thinks that any other race is wholly civilized until he wears the white man’s clothes, eats the white man’s food, speaks the white man’s language, and professes the white man’s religion. — Booker T. Washington
I am of the African race, and in the colour which is natural to them of the deepest dye; and it is under a sense of the most profound gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. — Benjamin Banneker
The hearts of Afro-American women are too warm and too large for race hatred. Long suffering has so chastened them that they are developing a special sense of sympathy for all who suffer and fail of justice. — Fannie Barrier Williams
The history of a movement, the history of a nation, the history of a race is the guide-post of that movement's destiny, that nation's destiny, that race's destiny. — Marcus Garvey
Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so. — Brigham Young
People of color, particularly African Americans, feel the stigma more keenly. In a race-conscious society, some don't want to be perceived as having yet another deficit. — Bebe Moore Campbell
Crime is fast destroying the moral fabric of South African cities, and is becoming a major threat to South African democracy as well as the prominent manifestation of a "class war" that is largely a continuation of the "race war" of yesterday. — Achille Mbembe
I saw all races, all colors, blue eyed blonds to black skinned Africans in true brotherhood! In unity! Living as one! Worshiping as one! No segregationists, no liberals; they would not have known how to interpret the meaning of those words — Malcolm X
African American Love Quotes
A moment of anger can destroy a lifetime of work, whereas a moment of love can break barriers that took a lifetime to build. — Leon Brown
It doesn't matter what you all think, what you all say about me, because when I go home at night, the same people that I look in the face, my family that I love, that's all that really matters to me. — Marshawn Lynch
Great men cultivate love...only little men cherish a spirit of hatred — Booker T. Washington
Listen to yourself, not the noise of the world. Only you know what is right for you. — Leon Brown
Embrace struggle... It is your greatest teacher. — Russell Simmons
Don't ever think I fell for you, or fell over you. I didn't fall in love, I rose in it. — Toni Morrison
Sometimes we have to lose our way to find out what we really want, for we often ignore our needs until we are lost. — Leon Brown
Let choice whisper in your ear and love murmur in your heart. Be ready. Here comes life. — Maya Angelou
I love "Phenomenal Woman." The experiences she had of being African American in the U.S. - that itself is a task. I appreciate the hardships Maya Angelou went through for our generation. I'm super influenced by the black people that paved the way for us. — Serena Williams
We have a wonderful history behind us. ... If you are unable to demonstrate to the world that you have this record, the world will say to you, 'You are not worthy to enjoy the blessings of democracy or anything else'. — Carter G. Woodson
Knowing what must be done does away with fear. — Rosa Parks
History is the land-mark by which we are directed into the true course of life. — Marcus Garvey
Although there are those who wish to ban my books because I have used language that is painful, I have chosen to use the language that was spoken during the period, for I refuse to whitewash history. The language was painful and life was painful for many African Americans, including my family. I remember the pain. — Mildred D. Taylor
What comes forth from you as an artist cannot be controlled. But you have responsibilities as a global citizen. Your history dictates your duty. And by writing about black people, you are not limiting yourself. The experiences of African-Americans are as wide open as God's closet. — August Wilson
I'm not against knowing the history of white people in the U.S. - that's not the point. The point is that there's so much greater history. We don't know about Native Americans. Very basically, we don't know that much about African American history, except that they were enslaved. You only get bits and pieces. — Luis J. Rodriguez
There's no doubt that many of the mainstream white institutions tend to be cosmetic and symbolic when it comes to including African-Americans, whereas we black folk tend to be much more sensitive about embracing others, and we have a long history of that. — Cornel West
In the closing years of the nineteenth century, African-American historians began to look at their people's history from their vantage point and their point of view. — John Henrik Clarke
You face the biggest challenge of all: to have the courage to seek your big dream regardless of what anyone says. You are the only person alive who can see your big picture and even you can't see it all. — Oprah Winfrey
I always say African American history is the quintessential American story. It's about perseverance and resilience - something everyone can relate to. — Philip Freelon
Some people would view Jackie Robinson as a very safe African-American, a docile figure who had a tendency to try to get along with everyone, and when you look at his history, you learn that he has this fire that allows him to take this punishment but also figure out savvy ways of giving it back. — Chadwick Boseman
I have crossed over on the backs of Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Madam C. J. Walker. Because of them I can now live the dream. I am the seed of the free, and I know it. I intend to bear great fruit. — Oprah Winfrey
All of my history as an African-American woman, as a Jewish woman, as a Muslim woman. I'm bringing everything I ever knew, and all the stories I've read - everything good, strong, kind and powerful. I bring it all with me into every situation, and I will not allow my life to be minimized by anybody's racism or sexism or ageism. — Maya Angelou
In the early 1970s in Atlanta, I attended what had formerly been an all-white school but had become a black school after integration and white flight. Perhaps because of this, the teachers created a curriculum that included a focus on African American literature and history year-round, not just in February. — Natasha Trethewey
The highest percentage of African Americans own their own homes today than ever in our nation's history. — Ed Gillespie
As an African-American, as a woman I think that I've been sensitized to the way in which history privileges the white male and the way in which certain aspects of history, the things that we are taught in school, the things that are handed down never, never entered the picture though they might have been very important. — Rita Dove
I love my own culture. I love my African-American culture very deeply, and I know it deserves to be honored. You have to be aware that people are suffering unjustly, and given our own history we have a duty to stand for the people who are being treated like our parents and grandparents and children were treated. — Alice Walker
The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, - this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost... He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American. — W. E. B. Du Bois
You take a look at the history of African Americans in the US. There's been about thirty years of relative freedom. There was a decade after the Civil War and before north/south compact essentially recriminalized black life. During the Second World War there was a need for free labor so there was a freeing up of the labor force. Blacks benefitted from it. — Noam Chomsky
All of you are aware of the tragic history of racism in America, but for a very long time, African-Americans and their white allies came together and they struggled and they stood up for justice and they stood up to lynching and they stood up to segregation and the stood up to a nation where African-Americans couldn't even vote in America. — Bernie Sanders
[Michael] Brown's mom, Lesley McSpadden, is the latest African American mother whose tear-streaked face forces the nation to remember the name of yet another unarmed black teenager gunned down under questionable circumstances. — Jonathan Capehart
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